Princeton Council to discuss changes to parking regulations tonight
The Princeton Council will hold a special meeting tonight, March 20, at 7 p.m. to discuss parking code changes in town. The meeting will be held in the main room of the municipal building at 400 Witherspoon Street.
Representatives from the town’s engineering department will present potential code amendments
related to metered and unmetered street parking as well as changes to loading zones, overnight parking,
extended parking at the train station, and new time restrictions for parking on various streets. The council will also consider shortening the meter time limits on lower University Place near McCarter Theatre and the old Dinky station, which is now a restaurant and bar. Princeton University officials and the owner of the Dinky Bar asked the town to reduce the meter hours there at a council meeting last year.
In response to requests from residents for limited parking hours and daytime permits, the Princeton Council
will consider new regulations for two-hour parking time restrictions on Lytle Street, Clay Street, Maple Street and Linden Lane, and daytime parking permits in conjunction with overnight permits. Permit fee exemption criteria will also be explored.
“One of the issues we’ll be discussing is providing daytime permit parking for residents who live in town, which has been percolating for a number of years. The program in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood has differences between the former Borough and Township, and other neighborhoods have requested a permit program,” Council President Jenny Crumiller said.
Adding metered on-street parking on Witherspoon Street, Henry Avenue, and College Road will be discussed. The Princeton Council will also consider harmonizing the loading zone regulations between the former Borough and Township.
The municipality of Princeton manages over 1,100 metered parking spaces on and off street, one public
parking garage, eight surface lots, and hundreds of parking permits.
No formal action will be taken at the meeting, officials said.
“There are so many issues when it comes to parking regulations that it made sense to have a meeting devoted entirely to the topic,” Mayor Liz Lempert said. “It will be an opportunity for Council to hear from our staff as well as the public, and to consider the various options and impacts before ordinances are drafted.”
Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.
Why?
It’s heinous that town leaders will approve this shortening, to create “turnover” for one business owner. His business is adjacent to a major, well populated University, well within “walkable princeton” and soon next to a major regional arts complex. Exactly how much must we towns folk tolerate and subsidize to satisfy the overly greedy “wealthy needy” here? Permit parking spaces sit empty all day near the DINKY, while those paying high taxes on the outskirts of a town hope for one space to hop on the train for a day trip. A family wanting to experience the enrichment of NYC stands almost no chance of snagging a spot for train use as is. Biased municipal decision making, that totally victimizes good citizens wanting to lead a healthy full life, has made my family decide that the new/old dinky station restaurant is the last place in Princeton we will go to or recommend. If enough people aren’t walking there, the food is either overpriced, or not that good, or both. If this wealthy needy business owner can’t draw a big enough crowd in this STELLAR location, what gives him the right to complain & take opportunities away from healthy families & residents who want to use the DINKY? More promises broken and more ridiculous changes considered, by those in power here, to favor PU not families.
Wow shortening those time limits around the Dinky and McCarter will be so helpful for McCarter employees. Thanks a bunch. (sarcasm).
It would be great if the Council would consider a parking voucher for town residents to defray their costs of parking in town. Especially when the effective price of parking seems to be going up.
Perhaps 5-10 free hours per month?
It would be great if the municipal, county, state, and federal taxes that citizens pay for roadways allowed citizens free use of them. It’s sad that our local government can find nothing progressive to do, and so uses everyone’s valuable time & resources to monetize, permit, monitor, & control town life.
We are sick and tired of having ‘elites’ make policies that
might benefit them but they don’t have to live with the on the ground ramifications of those policies.
NONE of the Princeton Council members or the Mayor live in the areas where parking is metered on Sunday.
This is not the town any of us who love beauty have lived in, or want. Princeton used to be offbeat & chill in a good way. If something was proposed, it was at least progressive… not regressive like all these proposed systems & restrictions. How can any of us tolerate more enforcement vehicles & meter men creeping their way down our lovely streets a few times a day? How will it feel to know we are all under scrutiny to follow more odd rules? How will you like having to carry a voucher or parking ID? Where is Councils’ call for smart cars & other modern enhancements? Why so much restriction? I suspect this all comes from the folks who didn’t grow up in this region, but think they’re better than their predecessors… those who want a town of their own freakish design, and those who don’t realize that this wackiness means, IDs, ugly parking signs and hardware installed on lovely streets, which are nothing nice to stroll by. I may change my moniker to Tree-Hugger, if any more signs, metal poles, and boxes are placed on our greenways to satisfy the car haters. There are still lots of very chill boutique towns with heavy use & walkability that have NOT resorted to so much governance, where folks are happy & free.